Celebrating 40 years of imaging excellence

Honouring a trailblazer:  Sue's four decades of dedication and impact at Mercy

In 1980, Sue Dixon came to Auckland and was initially hired as a radiographer.   Sue progressively built her role and the Mercy Radiology business into what it is today. From Clinical Operations Manager, Sue eventually took the role as one of our key Project Managers, looking after planning and fitting out all our new branches, as well as maintaining the older ones.

Sue Dixon’s 40-year legacy at Mercy extends far beyond her time served. Her influence can be felt in the lives she’s touched, the projects she’s led, and the milestones she’s achieved, all of which have shaped Mercy Radiology. Sue is now semi-retired but continues to be involved with Mercy Radiology in a more casual role.

Building a Base

In 1983, the Sisters of Marter approached Dr. Dermot Mora about taking over the existing radiology department in Mercy Hospital, then known as Marter Hospital.

Mater Hospital was extremely run-down. The nuns who worked and lived there had begun to redevelop the theatres and wards but had run out of money to redevelop the remaining departments. After a lot of negotiation, the practice was started in 1984 with Dr Dermot Mora, Dr Tony House, Dr Chris Cotter, and Dr Bob Anderson. Dr Benson Cooper, Dr Mark Osborne, and Dr Kevin Lee, who came on board in 1990, joined the team in 1985.

From Mater to Mercy

In its initial stages, the business was known as Mater Radiology to align with the Sisters Mater Misericordiae. Its profits were based on eight patients per day! The name was later changed to Mercy Radiology in 1988.

The practice's vision was to provide the very best service in terms of patient experience, accurate and excellent imaging, and the best reporting and diagnosing possible. All the Doctors had their own specialties, offering services such as Ultrasound, Paediatrics, Chest Imaging, Breast Imaging, and Neuro-Imaging.

One of the sisters, Sister Kathleen, worked alongside our team to see the development and setup of Marter Radiology. At the time, the nuns were in charge of every department, and they lived in the areas now known as the Specialist Centre, with a chapel situated onsite in what’s now known as the ARO area.

The initial six months of the business’s establishment involved opening the ultrasound unit and rebuilding and re-equipping the existing equipment. This was followed by the first dedicated mammography machine in 1985, a GE 600T, and a new Toshiba CT machine in 1986. These were installed in what is now known as Radiology 2, which we took over and renovated in 1986. Prior to this, it was a maternity ward.

A Timeline of Mercy Radiology

After setting up Mercy at our original location on Remuera Road, we had many notable moments over the following 40 years that made our business what it is today. Check out our timeline below for key Mercy moments!

• 1988: We opened an X-ray room in the Auckland Surgical Centre in St Marks and a facility on Sunset Road. 
• 1989: We opened a facility in Highland Park and started our Scintigraphy services and Lincoln Road facility.
• 1991: The MRI unit, the first in the country, was opened. Our Warkworth facility was also opened. 
• 1993: Mercy and Avondale Diagnostic Services united to form a branch in the Eastern Suburbs of St Heliers called RADSPEC.
• 1994: We were bought out by SGS and amalgamated with Avondale, St Luke’s, and RADSPEC to form the New Zealand Radiology Group.  This was the year the Breast Clinic was opened, a joint venture with the surgeons.
• 1995: We achieved “Telarc” which is now known as “IANZ” accreditation - the third business to do so in New Zealand.
• 1997: We closed the St Marks clinic, and Highland Park was relocated to the new Botany Down Super Clinic.
• 1999: Huapai brand was relocated to Westgate on Lincoln Road. This was the year the New Zealand Radiology Group ownership changed to Sonic Health.
• 2000: Happy Millenium! We opened our Citymed location in 2000.
• 2005: Avondale was closed, and Walkworth was sold. We reopened it some years later, and it was relocated to its present location in 2021.
• 2009: We opened a PET CT brand. At the time, the only dedicated location in the country was in Christchurch. After a trip to Sydney
   to look at some PET CT clinics, the branch was designed, and a location was built on Gilgit Road.
• 2009: MRI was relocated to RAD1’s current location, and the facility underwent a huge renovation.
• 2012:  We opened our first customer care centre in Radiology 2, which was relocated to our Ascot location some years later. We also opened our Silverdale location.
• 2013: We opened our Takapuna location.
• 2014: We acquired our Orewa location. This was an important year for the business, as it was when Sonic Health sold Mercy Radiology to HHL.
• 2016: We renovated RAD2 extensively, taking over the area that was previously the morgue to make more space for our reception, ultrasound, and radiologist reporting areas.
• 2018: Lutetium-177 PSMA and PET CT were introduced to our RAD2 facility. We also relocated our Sunset Road location to Northcare and opened Pakuranga.
• 2019: Our Botany Road location underwent a major renovation, and we relocated our CT to install an MRI at the facility.
• 2020: Shakespeare Road opened, offering PET CT services.
• 2021: An MRI was installed at Northcare, and Pukekohe was opened. We also renovated our breast clinic and installed an updated mammography machines.
• 2022: MSK Radiology opened, and December saw renovations to RAD2 to install a second CT machine.

From Junior Partner to Mentor: David Benson Cooper’s 40-Year Journey at Mercy Radiology

When I joined Mercy Radiology in 1985 as a Partner I was 35 and very much the junior radiologist. We put in our first mammography machine simultaneously, and I urgently needed to learn about marketing. We were building a new practice, and we needed patients. We were very kind and caring and gave 7 days of 24-hour service. I have had a number of roles over the decades, but I always saw my duty as looking after the frontline staff, something that has always been part of Mercy.

I may be one of the oldest staff members now, but it is still the No. 1 radiology group for me because we have such fabulous staff!

Kind regards

BC

Ex junior partner : Ex Managing Partner : Ex CEO : Ex Medical Director : Now Happy Radiologist! :)